The Shard
by Chrissiemusa
Summary: She was running from her past. He had lost his future. What brings them together will tear them apart. Multi-Chap. Rated T.
1. The Mysterious Stranger

**A/N: The idea for this fan-fiction came from my work on DeviantART. You can find some wallpapers and artworks relating to scenes from the story in my gallery through the link in my profile.**

**Note: This story is not a conventional winx fic. It does not follow any particular events of the original series. Do NOT flame this story because it experiments with a different pairing. This fic is the very first fic one to use a Helia/Icy pairing so don't flame it 'til you read it. I'm a fan of Flora and Helia as much as the next person (read my other fics if you don't believe me) but please give it a chance. **

**To my friends on DeviantART – Welcome to the fic I hope you like it :) if you don't have a ff. net account you can still tell me what you think in the box at the end of the story as an anonymous reviewer if you want to :)**

**This story will contain elements of Drama and Fantasy though more Drama. I didn't want to put this into the 'Romance' category because, though it includes some elements of romance, I didn't want it to be stereotyped with other so called 'romance' fic's on this fandom.**

**All errors are mine, enjoy.**

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**Warning: This chapter contains dark themes, violence and references to blood. You have been warned.**

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**The Shard**

**A Winx Club Fan-Fiction**

**Written by Chrissiemusa**

**I do NOT in any way, shape or form own the Winx Club, it belongs to Iginio Straffi and I am not making any money out of this fan-fiction.**

_**Chapter 1**_

_**The Mysterious Stranger**_

Magic had the ability to do so many things; to attack or defend, to protect or wound, to turn some of life's trivial tasks into exciting feats of demonstration, and make the tedious ones as simple as clicking your fingers. But there was always a limit to magic, to its abilities, to how much it could help or hinder, and if he had the ability to collect all of the universes magic and put it towards one task, he knew that it still would not be strong enough.

Magic could heal, magic could kill, but it would never bring the dead back to life.

And that was all he wanted, for he had lost his future the moment his true love had passed from this world and into whatever lay beyond the veil of death. His future, his happiness, all of it had been so swiftly taken from under him he didn't know what to do, where to stand. He felt like a plate on a table just after its cloth had been pulled so vigorously it made it float. But he didn't break on the table, or hit the floor and separate into thousands of tiny pieces; he was stuck in limbo, stuck standing like a statue in the pouring rain in front of the grave of his fiancé, his life, his wife and his future… Flora.

She was so full of immense beauty, compassion and care towards others. She always had time for those that she loved and those who needed help. He could never understand why he, of all people, had been blessed enough for her to fall in love with. He knew he didn't deserve her, she deserved someone better, someone who could have protected her more, kept her safe and secure and, most importantly, alive.

But it was already too late, and no amount of replaying that night's events over in his head could help him, could stop him feeling the pain slowly stabbing his chest, pushing deeper and deeper into the pumping muscle until it gave out. He would have felt pain, he reasoned, if he truly was being stabbed in the chest, but he couldn't feel a thing. He was numb from head to toe.

The water slowly sliding down his head and face, his skin and clothes becoming saturated with the deluge falling from heaven - he didn't feel a single drop. His friends had tried to help him, had tried to reason with him, tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault that she was dead, that he had done everything he could have to save her. But he didn't believe them, because there was always something he could do, there had to be something he could have done. If he had a tape recorder that could play, rewind or pause time, he'd go back and do what he had to.

He'd tried everything, seen wizards and witches, met elders of distant tribes to discover the secrets of life, death and time travel, but they all told him the same thing… nothing could be done. So now he stood, staring at the red rose in his hand that he planned to give Flora for Valentine's Day. The rose that, ironically, he had spelled for eternity so it would stay fresh, alive, without blemish and never lose its perfume - yet another use for magic that could never help him.

Kneeling down in the soaked earth he read the tombstone before laying the rose against it. It sat beautifully, bright red against the darkness of the cloud covered world below, like Flora's ray of light in his world of darkness.

And that world of darkness became even scarier when he heard a groan to his left. Helia lifted his head and searched through the rain, trying to identify other shapes among the angels and statues. "Who's there!" He asked.

_Snap!_

His head whipped left as he stood to his feet, noticing someone leaning against a tree in the shadows, away from the moonlight gently shining from above. "Hello." He spoke uncertainly before they fell to the wet ground with a thud.

Hurrying forward Helia got to his knees and turned them over. She was a beautiful young woman. Her skin was pale and face painted with a strange bright blue, slowly damaged and broken by trails of crimson blood that seeped from the wound on her head and traced down the side of her face. What appeared to be fresh cuts and wounds on her shoulders, arms and legs bled fresh, ruining the white canvas of her skin. Her usually long white hair was mattered with a mixture of mud, leaves and blood, and he had absolutely no idea who she was or what she was doing out here so late at night. Though, he supposed, others would have been wondering the same thing about him.

Carefully he placed one forearm under her waist and the other under her knees and lifted her off the muddy grass, droplets of water dripping off her body and back to the floor where they belonged. Stepping over the rocks he made his way to the main path and past rows and rows of the dead, heading for home.

Though he had considered leaving Linphea behind him for good, he had ended up deciding against it. Flora had always been there for him, he was the one who failed her. So why should he forgive himself and run away to some far off planet or magical dimension to escape the guilt? He could never forgive himself.

Reaching the small two bedroom home that he and Flora had planned to share together he carefully fished the keys from his pocket and balanced the mysterious woman on his shoulder before kicking it open and making his way inside. He walked to their spare bedroom and carefully lay her on the sheets before removing his soaking wet, and now blood and mud covered jacket. He ran to the kitchen and took a bowl, some water and a cloth into his hands before returning and taking a seat by her bedside, carefully wiping the blood away from her face and arms. He started with the laceration to her forehead and wrung the cloth in his hands, turning the water that was previously clear to become rather pink.

Next was her shoulder, then upper arm, both of which looked particularly nasty. He moved down to her elbow which looked like she had fallen onto and wiped the dirt and mud before noticing something on her left wrist. Taking it into his hand he turned it over and saw a tattoo. It was small, delicate, and shaped like a six pointed star, though some ends were not entirely joined properly. Then he noticed something…strange.

The mark itself was black but one particular triangle was white, and looked like it had been badly burnt into her skin. Just as he placed his thumb over it to inspect the damage her arm retracted and a foot hit him square in the chest. Helia smacked the ground with a bang, the chair rolling to its side and bowl of water upturned and shaking. Its wrangled tones getting faster and faster as it teetered uncontrollably on the floor.

He tried to get back to his feet but she was already over him, on all fours, her hands tightly clasped around his neck. Desperately he clawed at her fingers to relieve the pressure before pushing his knees under her stomach and pushing upwards.

She clutched her painful abdomen when the tattoo mark on her arm started to glow a luminous white. Helia had no idea what to do but quickly realised he didn't have to do a thing. With another thud she hit the wooden floorboards, and was knocked out cold.

Taking several quick and deep breaths Helia leant against the far wall and looked to the ceiling, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into before tilting his head to the right and looking at the unconscious being before him. She was breathing, that much was certain, and the worst of the lacerations had been cleaned, though he wasn't exactly looking forward to having to dress them as well. Carefully he got back to his feet and walked to her, before kneeling and inspecting the tattoo. This time he knew better than to touch it, but he had absolutely no idea what it was.

He had read about ancient magic during his time at Red Fountain school for Specialists, where he first met Flora. She had attended Alfea and the two grew rather close until they graduated and he proposed. But he had never read anything about magic marks. Most of the ones he had heard about were four or five pointed stars, or those that could be used as a form of communication device. But never as…well…as whatever it was.

Carefully scooping her from the floor he lay her back on the bed and covered her lower half with a blanket, not bothering to try and remove her knee high black boots for fear she'd rouse and try and kill him a second time, possibly succeeding in her task. He paused at the door and turned to look over his shoulder one last time before urging his lips to ask the one question he was begging to know an answer to. "Who are you?"

And that one question started a series of events that neither of them could possibly have predicted. She was running from her past, he had lost his future, and whatever unknown force had brought them together, was also prepared to tear them apart.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review if you'd like me to continue.**


	2. Trust Me Or Die

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews of the first chapter and for embracing the concept of this non-canon pairing.**

**All errors are mine though I have tried to keep them to a minimum, If you find one let me know and I'll amend it.**

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**Chapter 2**

_**Trust Me or Die**_

Helia's eyes opened to the silent intruding light beaming through his shutters. It had been weeks since the blue sky deemed to show its face, though the bright morning rays didn't shine for long as another cloud passed overhead. Swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress he eyed a photograph of Flora on the day they got engaged. He had planned every miniscule detail, from the wine they drank to the orchestra, his drop to the knee mid dance to catch her off guard, the perfect ring that was exactly her size, thanks to some detective work from Miele - it had all been perfect. It had showed him a brilliant future, the beginning of a new life of love and happiness. And instead, it had all been taken away and replaced by a world of constant pain, never ending sadness and frequently visiting broken dreams.

"I'm sorry, Flora," he whispered, hoping her ghost would hear him wherever she was, if she even felt the need to watch over his lonely and guilt filled spirit. "I should have done more - been more - maybe you wouldn't have… if I just-" he sighed, using his fists to wipe the sandman's sleep from his tired eyes. His elbows found their way to his knees as he hunched forwards. His shoulders jolted up and down in unsteady rhythm, his eyes becoming prickled with the start of salty tears which managed to leak from the confines of his own burdensome reality. He blamed himself for so many things, had replayed the event night after night in his dreams, and yet nothing he did, nothing he tried to do, prevented him from seeing her death over and over again.

From seeing the black shadow cut the moonlight from their bodies, to watch her fall to the grass in one heap, to see the crimson liquid that kept her heart beating and life in balance now pouring from her wounds and onto the innocent blades cradling her body.

His eyes opened as the image replayed once more and he willed his body to move and seize the day. Once up and dressed he heard a bang come from the other room and remembered his mysterious guest.

The mysterious woman who had tried to kill him just hours ago with her bare hands, whose mark on her wrist had struck at Helia's curiosity and whose bizarre appearance had him questioning exactly who or what she could be.

Stepping down the hallway, his feet were tentative; almost as if they were afraid of making a single creak in the wooden floorboards that would alert her of his presence. But when he lightly knocked on the door with his knuckle and opened it, he was happy to see her eyes weren't filled with the rage and pure hatred they held before. Instead they seemed distant, cold, such a beautiful rich blue. Between her fingers she held a photograph, just one of the many he had stored in the boxes and piled into the corner for safe keeping.

"What are you doing?" He asked, phrasing the question carefully, unsure of how she would react.

"And good morning to you to," she smirked, turning and pointing to Flora in the photograph. "Who is she?" she asked softly. He snatched the frame from her grasp.

"No one of your concern," he answered. "More to the point, who are you?"

"Icy," she answered, "and you are?"

"Helia."

"Helia," she recited, turning around and looking directly to the night stand, to see a wet cloth laying haphazardly there, a dried spill stained the floor with red and she looked back into his eyes. He was a handsome young man, that much was certain, tall, stoic and yet there was something oddly familiar about him, as if she'd seen him before in a dream. "Thank you, for whatever you did for me, but I must be on my way."

"Do you remember much of what happened?" Helia asked, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows slightly with concern. The cuts on her arms and legs didn't come from nowhere, neither did the gash on her forehead and, though he was desperate to know the answer, he resisted the urge to ask about the mark on her wrist, the six pointed star with one point seemingly burnt out with white.

"No," she answered, "honestly most of it's a blur, but I do remember walking to the graveyard…it was raining and I saw someone there…then nothing. I suppose that person was you?" Helia nodded, wondering if she'd ask about the state of the room or about the hand marks around his neck, which although he was unsure of how much they showed, certainly burned with vigour every now and then.

"Thank you," she spoke, bending down to pick up the box she had pushed over accidentally. Helia knelt by her side and helped to sort the items back into their proper places. They both reached for the same toppled piece of material and Helia's hand landed first. He watched Icy retract her hand, placing the other to her side in the process. Her eyes closed and her jaw tightened to restrain the pain. Placing a hand on her shoulder she swiftly moved away from his touch.

"Don't," she warned before getting to her feet unaided. Her body still swayed from left to right, her head pounding like a wild African drum, and heart beating at what felt like a breakneck pace.

"You should rest."

"I've stayed here enough."

"No you haven't. You're injuries still need time to heal."

"I can't stay," she resolved, hastening out the door and into the hallway, Helia quickly followed behind.

"Look just stop, and rest for one more day."

"I can't.

"Yes you can. I can't just let you walk out that door without knowing you're going to be okay." She still walked, determined, never turning back. He managed another hand on her shoulder, her long white hair brushing gently over his knuckles in the process. "They won't stop so I can't!" She snapped, stopping her assault for the front door and pivoting square on her heel. She stared into the young man's eyes for a moment to emphasise the point before pushing him away.

"Who are you talking about?"

"I've already said too much," Icy spoke, "look just leave me alone and live your life, thanks for the help but mind your own business." Her heeled shoes stopped before the front door and she took no time in turning the knob, flinging it open, stepping outside and slamming the door shut back against its threshold.

Release a somewhat puzzled breath and brushing his hand through his hair, Helia started pondering what he would have for breakfast when a loud yell and bang echoed from beyond the door. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, Icy burst back into the room and flattened him to the ground.

The wind escaped his lungs as a massive beam of green magic speared the air above and blasted into the rear end of the house with a bang. The ceiling above was eclipsed in smoke as the rafters struggled to hold their weight and, eventually, gave way. Icy's thin blue shield protected the two from the falling rubble which creaked, snapped, squeaked and crackled around them.

Another beam blasted through the wall to their right, tearing the bricks from their mortar and shredding into the rest of his property, his home. It disintegrated the walls into ash, the foundations to nothing but dark abysses and everything that he loved was broken in pieces. Through the smoke and haze, just outside the shield, he saw it – the photo.

It was the one thing he treasured above them all, above every possession he owned and, desperately, he shuffled from under Icy's weight and plunged his hand through the shield to get a hold of it. "Stop!" The witch screamed, but it was already too late.

Another attack loosened the beams above and one landed directly onto his arm, crushing it against the surrounding rubble. He screamed louder than he ever had before and Icy's hand found its way over his mouth to silence him. His eyes widened with confusion but she held her other hand to her lips, ushering for his quiet. He complied, breathing through his nose in quick bursts and trying not to focus on the searing agony that, if only for a moment, had masked the pain of a guilty heart.

The firing stopped, and, as muffled voices started to converse among themselves, Icy quickly helped lift the beam to allow Helia his freedom. He clutched his damaged hand to his chest before smashing the frame against the bricks, freeing the photo from its glass imprisonment and into his bloody hands.

Beams of light shone through the haze as Icy helped Helia to his feet and started pulling him away, out toward the hole in the back entrance and to the woods that surrounded their village. "Where are we going?"

"Just shut up and follow me," she cursed, wondering how he could even question why she was running, they were nearly blown to pieces after all.

Crossing the grassland and entering the forest, Icy hid behind a bush and observed their attackers, her eyes piercing the smouldering pile of rubble carefully. In her head she mentally counted how many there were, she used the lights projected from their hands to determine their power source, had wondered how much time they would spend looking for her and if she should run now and try and flee or stay where they were, out of sight.

Helia stared, his jaw to the ground at the devastation as he took deep breaths and dared to look down to his arm. "Come on," Icy spoke, "we have to get out of here."

"Why should I?" He snapped. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Will you shut up, keep it down," she warned between gritted teeth. "I can explain later but not here – not now."

"Why not now?"

"Because it's more complicated then you think it is and we need to move!" Helia's hand grasped Icy's wrist as she made to leave, his eyes looked down to her tattoo and she quickly pulled herself from his grasp. "Look, stay here if you want, it's your funeral." Icy's eyes drifted to the bloodied picture still clutched between his fingers. "But I guess if you'll risk your life for a piece of paper, then maybe that's what you really want."

"How can I trust you?" He asked, his head burning with confusion and eyes clearly showing his distrust. Icy couldn't really blame him. After all, he'd helped her in a moment of need and ended up losing his entire house and all his possessions in the process. She didn't know a thing about him, who he was, what he wanted, who the woman in that photograph was, but she did know that if he didn't follow her then he was as good as dead.

"You can't," she replied honestly, "but if you don't at least try to, then in less than ten minutes, you're going to die."

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review.**


	3. Confessions

**A/N: Thanks for the support again everyone, I truly appreciate it. I hadn't planned on updating this fic so fast but inspiration struck and when it calls I can't refuse :)**

**All errors are mine.**

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**Chapter 3**

_**Confessions**_

Helia's lungs greedily heaved oxygen from his surroundings. His breaths were sharp and quick as he followed behind, holding his bleeding and bruised hand to his chest to try and keep it from hitting anything sharp or stray as he ran. It throbbed in agony the further he went and the fact that Icy hadn't seemed phased at all by the sudden appearance of the wizards who shattered his home to pieces had unnerved him.

"Stop!" He yelled, making the witch finally pause and turn to face him, her expression calm but eyes filled with a mixture of rage and urgency.

"We can't, we have to keep moving."

"We have been running…for…miles," he managed through ragged breaths. "P-please, can't we just…stop…for a minute?" The mysterious witch didn't seem to care about his predicament, she had told him that it was either he followed along or he died a painful and slow death. How could running through the forest at high speed to escape from that be something he wanted to stop? She had been running her whole life from various wizards and witches who all wanted her head. But Helia didn't seem to understand the gravity of her – their – situation.

She held her right palm his way and made it glow light blue and his eyes instantly widened. He stood back to his feet, his able hand held up in defence. "Look, I… I just need a break."

"You're slowing me down."

"I'm not as fast as you."

"If we don't keep moving then they will find the two of us and we will both be dead before the sun goes down, is that what you want?"

"No." He shook his head, suddenly unworried about his breathlessness and the overwhelming feeling that he'd pass out from so much exertion at once. His training at Red Fountain had kept him strong and healthy but his running abilities were never on par with that of his fellow specialists, and this witch seemed to be able to run for days on a single breath without a drop of sweat to show for her efforts. He had no idea what she must have been through in order to condition herself to be in such peak physical condition, and for her to continue regardless of the scratches and bruises she had still sustained earlier.

The adrenaline from his arms sudden entrapment in his home was beginning to fade and now he felt weak and tired. But looking at the outstretched palm before him was enough to make him shake his head and return to reality. She had tried to kill him once, he had narrowly escaped a second attempt at the hands of others, he wasn't sure if he would be lucky enough to have a third life, especially when he had made Flora pay for his mistakes.

"You need to keep up," Icy stated, lowering her hand, making him breathe a small sigh of relief. "Because if you don't, then I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave you behind for them to find."

"Who are they?" Icy turned around and was about to continue running when Helia summoned all the effort he could into his legs and he stopped her. "Please, just tell me what all this is about."

"I told you to try and trust me," she reminded harshly, pulling her forearm from his grasp and taking a few steps forwards. "So stop asking so many questions and just do as I do."

"No," he replied. "I don't even know you, I have no idea what kind of messed up world you live in!"

"Then why did you help me!" Icy snapped, raising her voice for the first time since they met. Helia's eyes blinked twice, his own mind searching for the answer. "You had a chance to turn your back and you didn't."

"You needed my help!"

"And now you need mine."

Helia opened his mouth to reply but the words wouldn't come. His teeth bit hard together as she lowered her voice to be more civil. "You said that you'd try to trust me because the consequences… they are worse than you could ever imagine." The specialist thought he saw water momentarily enter Icy's eyes but it disappeared just as quickly as it came, the mask of protection slipped back into place, hiding her true self from the world.

"If they catch you they will ask you about me, about where I am headed, who I am and how long you have known me for. They will interrogate you for information and if you don't have it then there is a small – and I mean small – chance they will let you free. But if you know too much about me… you'll never see the light of day again. So, as I see it, you have two options left."

He listened intently.

"Either you speed the hell up and stop asking questions and follow what I say and do, or I put you out of your misery now myself," her hand raised in his direction again, punctuating the threat, "and I leave you for them to find… your choice."

Her eyes were just as cold as they were blue. They didn't hold a sparkle of life or love, of friendship or recognition. They were cold, as if he was a target on her assassination hit list and she was about to make a fortune on his head. It was an icy, calculating stare, and one that he knew would not last forever. Clearing his throat he pushed his aching limbs to march past her, despite how much they protested for rest.

Her hand lowered itself before she turned and followed, the blue glow of her magic disappearing as the two silent accomplices marched through the woods, as far away from Helia's home as their feet could take them.

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The sun began to set over the land, bathing the sky in a beautiful orange and purple hue as the stars twinkled softly in the distance. It was as if God had taken a paint brush and carefully designed every line, every cloud, every beautiful tree and bird in the sky to all work in harmony and celebrate their survival of another day. It had been long, and gruelling, and although Icy hadn't shown it on her face she too was hurting. Her feet were aching in her shoes and she was sure to have a blister or two there demanding her attention.

On the up side Helia hadn't said a word to her since her ultimatum, which worked in her favour. She liked the therapeutic thump of her shoes against the ground, the birds calling above in the trees and settling their little ones to bed for the evening, the owls that hooted for the arrival of the moon. "We can stop here," she declared and Helia practically collapsed onto the earth with a sigh. He lay on his back and stared at the sky, still not uttering a word as she removed a small knife from her belt and started working on finding them something to eat and drink for the evening.

It didn't take too long to find an old river cove and she directed Helia there to soak their aching feet in silence. Helia lowered his arm into the stream and bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. He muffled his cries with the collar of his shirt while Icy sat silently next to him like a statue.

When the moon had illuminated them in its glow, and the two were unable to sleep, Icy watched Helia fish out the photograph he had risked life and limb to collect. He stared at it for a moment before putting it away and she decided that her curiosity could not wait any longer.

"What happened to her?"

Helia's head turned to the left as Icy's turned to the right, their gazes meeting one another before he turned away. She didn't expect him to reply, but the question had to be asked. If he was so willing to kill himself for a photograph then the person contained within must have been someone special to him.

"To who?" he asked softly and Icy almost laughed at his inability to pretend nothing was amiss. She had seen the heartbreak written in many men's smiles throughout her own childhood and upbringing, his was no different.

"Your soul mate." Helia turned to look at Icy's eyes again, this time they contained warmth and concern, a different personality form the calculated and strategic one she had before.

He blinked a few times before parting his lips, wondering where to start. "She died."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay," he consoled, "her name was Flora, and to be honest it's the first time I've said it out loud."

"What happened?"

"It was valentine's day…" he began slowly, jaw rigid as he spoke and finally talked to someone else about what occurred the night that everything changed. "I had taken her out to dinner and we were returning to the home we shared when this black shadow passed over us from the trees. We both had no idea what it was but continued forwards when, it jumped out at us. Flora was a few steps ahead of me at the time and, all I remember seeing was this beast lunge our way…" He blinked back the beginnings of his tears. "The next thing I knew it ran away for no apparent reason and left her there, she was bleeding and I tried to stop it with my hands but it just kept on coming and coming and…she told me that it was okay… she told me that it was okay and I…I-I told her n-not to l-l-leave me. But she did and I've never forgiven myself for it."

"But what were you supposed to do?" Icy asked. "There was no way that you could have prevented it from happening."

"No, but I could have done something more. Run off to find help or yelled really, really loud to see if anyone would come, to do something more – be something more. She wouldn't be dead if I had just screamed… but I couldn't even do that." A single tear rolled from the corner of his eye, the reflection of the moonlight contained within sparkling in its trail.

"What would have been better?" Icy asked, making him look to her again. "You running off for help and leaving her to die alone, or you being there with her for the last moments of her life?"

"It wouldn't have been the last moments of her life if I did something more…she was my everything and now…" he took a deep breath, "now she's gone."

"Helia, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," he replied, "you didn't cause this." Icy shuffled uncomfortably against the ground before releasing a sigh.

"Ask a question."

His eyes widened slightly and he lifted his head, eyebrows showing his confusion.

"Ask me a question, just one. I figure if you're okay with sharing something with me then I should do the same. So, one question."

Just one question seemed difficult to select from the thousands that had swarmed around his head like a hive full of bees. He had so many that he desperately wanted the answers to but decided that there was one above the others he truly wanted to know.

"Who are those people chasing you?"

"The Shard," she answered, propping herself up on her elbow. She knew the two words wouldn't be enough to appease his question so she sighed and added something more. "They are group of dark wizards and witches who have been hunting my family for generations."

"What do they want?" Helia asked, hoping that a second question could ease its way in without reprimand.

"Me… I hail from a long line of strong witches that are blessed with a gift and a curse." She held her hand his way and again he had a chance to look at the tattoo edged into her wrist. "It's used for time travel, but only lasts as long as it's black. Each time it's used it turns white and, when it is burnt out completely then it's useless."

"So you've already used this before?" Helia asked, inspecting one of the points.

"Yes, the further we travel, the further the tattoo whitens itself out and we lose the ability. But having it means that we are the target of The Shard. I am not entirely sure why they are after me, but do know that they murdered the rest of my family… and ever since they did, I've never stopped running."

Her story stopped abruptly and she turned away from Helia, making his eyes droop slightly with understanding. He had lost numerous people from his own life, most of them because of his arrogance and refusal for their help, but they had never been killed. Maybe those beautiful blue eyes held more pain and emotion then he ever thought they would, maybe she too had nightmares and bad dreams plague her every waking moment too.

Perhaps the two of them, weren't so different after all.

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**A/N: The next two chapters will be flashbacks for Helia and Icy. Let me know which you'd like to see first, the most voted response will be included in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	4. Prey

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews everyone :) ****All errors are mine. If you see one let me know and I'll amend it. Flashbacks and thoughts are in _italics._**

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**Chapter 4**

_**Prey**_

_Just keep running._

_Put one foot in-front of the other._

_Don't look back._

_Keep moving forward._

_If you stop, you're dead._

_So don't stop._

_Never stop._

Icy's feet pounded against the earth, her arms struggling to propel her body forwards to its maximum speed as she sped through the undergrown and past trees and ferns that lashed and cut her arms and legs. She leaped over a fallen tree like a gazelle before continuing on her path, tears running down her cheeks in steady streams from both her eyes and meeting together at her trembling chin. The distinct smell of fire burning in the distance and the sound of her families screams slowly fading into the natural calls of the birds who fled the destruction and cried to the sky.

The pain she felt in her heart, her head, her body, was overwhelming. But she did as they had told her, she ran and never stopped. Not even as the sun set and she passed from one forest and into the next, not even when faced with farmers who were mining minerals from the earth or were planting seeds, not even when her arms and legs were so weak they trembled and, it wasn't until her ankle was caught on a rock and she came crashing to the ground with a hefty bang that knocked the wind from her lungs, that she finally stopped to face reality.

She didn't move, didn't breathe. She lay on the dirt, her vision fading as her arms and hands were trembling with grief. She finally let the sobs she had kept trapped inside for so long take over her body. Her fingers curled themselves into fists as her eyes closed tight, her mouth opening as she cried for those she had lost, for those she would never see again.

* * *

_Early that morning, Icy had been sleeping in her makeshift bed, hidden within the catacombs of an old abandoned castle on Whisperia. They had traversed the universe in search for a safe location, one that offered them an opportunity to finally rest and recuperate from the journey. After months of running, they had found it. A beautiful, dull, grey, cold castle which had been part of a battle centuries ago judging by the walls moss covered exterior and missing walls. It had worked well as their safe house for now… but all that was about to change._

_Icy startled awake in her bed before wiping what appeared to be dust from her face. She inspected it on her cold fingertips and watched other small particles fall from between the wooden floorboards above her head, a creak in the wood filling her stomach with dread and her limbs with adrenaline. She turned her head to the left to inspect her other two sisters who were sleeping silently before flinging the covers from her legs and pulling on her shoes._

_With the steady glow of her magic aimed at the spiralling concrete staircase she made her way up, carefully, slowly, silently. She stopped its glow when the first of the morning sun's rays broke into her vision. Stopping at the top of the stairs she held her palm upwards and conjured a diamond shaped icicle to hover. Turning it to the hallway, she commanded it forwards and closed her eyes to control its inspection of the hallways. It rounded another corner before finding a broken window and flying through it into the open daylight._

_Icy's eyes snapped open and her breathing stopped. It was like a sledge hammer had smashed against her skull. She suddenly felt disorientated, woozy and as if she was about to collapse from the shire weight of the situation. But she knew she couldn't let herself do it. Forcing her legs to stay strong, she raced down the concrete stairs five or six at a time before busting back into their room and pulling the sheets from her sister's bodies. "Stormy! Darcy! Get up we have to move!"_

"_Icy, what's-" Stormy inquired._

"_They're here," she interrupted before pulling her youngest sibling through the tunnel with Darcy charging up ahead, two fingers to her head already scanning for a clear path through the woods._

"_Can you see anything?" Icy demanded, quickening her pace to meet Darcy's._

"_Nothing, there's too many of them, they're everywhere."_

"_What about through the west forest glades?" Darcy checked._

"_No, they have the castle completely surrounded, I see ships…Icy."_

"_Remember our training; just keep running, no matter what happens, just keep on running!"_

"_AH!" Stormy screamed, finding herself suddenly ambushed by three men. Two pulled violently against her arms and legs. She managed to land a blow to one man's chest with her magic but another two were already on her. They kicked her legs away, leaving Stormy on her knees. "ICY!"_

_Her scream pierced her cold sister's heart and her feet skidded to a halt as she turned to see the tears glistening in Stormy's eyes. "Icy! You know what to do!" She nodded and Stormy did the same before Icy pivoted on her heel, regained her running stride and pulled her right fist over her shoulder, firing a single shard with a bang that flew through the air and through her sisters forehead._

"_Just keep running," she muttered to herself breathlessly, refusing to look back though every part of her just wanted to fight them all away, to forget her training and destroy every one of them for ripping her family to shreds, for hunting them mercilessly like animals during a never ending hunting season. But she couldn't._

'_Icy, I'm heading toward the cave on the east side, remember it?' the telepathic voice of Darcy spoke, its echo whirling around Icy's already muddled mind._

'_I remember,' Icy replied, finally being able to utter a coherent thought that her sisters incredible mind bending powers would be able to register._

'_I'll meet you there; I'm going out of communication range. You did the right thing for Stormy…'_

'_I know…see you there.' Icy replied, feeling her sister's connection pass from her mind. She didn't know whether it was actually the right thing to do, they had always been taught about what would happen when a witch was taken alive by The Shard and tortured in the vilest, cruellest, most emotionally disturbing ways possible; from everything involving magical mastery to the painful use of both aggressive magic and healing, over and over again until the internal soul of the witch was discarded or they gave up their secrets. She wished it could have been different, wished that they hadn't made the pact that if any of them were caught they would rather be killed by another than have to suffer such a fate._

_But that still didn't change it. Stormy had wanted her to do it. She would have wanted the same to happen to her if the roles had been reversed. It was the right thing to do…wasn't it?_

_Was murdering for the sake of saving others from harm a reasonable excuse? Or could she have done something else, taken a different course that might have ended with all of their lives in the hands of The Shard, never to be the same again?_

_It didn't matter how many questions she asked, how much she debated with the two sides of her conscience that always returned to her training and loyalty to her sisters. Today wasn't over yet and the true tragedy had only just begun._

* * *

Pushing herself from the ground her arms shook uncontrollably, elbows trembling by the shire effort of having to make herself move. Somehow she managed to get to her feet and stumbled forwards into a tree, clinging to it for support as her knees knocked from side to side and calves, now full of lactic acid, were heavy as lead. "Just…keep…running," she whispered, taking a step forwards and then another, each as painstakingly slow as the last. She shook her head to try and encourage some sort of clarity, but her vision was dancing before her eyes like it had been filmed in shaky cam.

But, even through the haze and tears, she had managed to see the blast.

It was white and she hit the ground harder than her sore limbs and body could take. It cracked into a tree and snapped it in half. "Over here!" The man screamed, quickly hitting a sprint as he jumped over another large rock and Icy forced herself up again. New adrenaline returned to her body, making it burn hot as she ran for her life from her attackers. With next to no shadows for her to use to hide in the sunlight she limped, hobbled and dragged herself away as more and more cries entered her ears from behind.

Turning to her right she saw something that looked like an old tree, its root system large enough for her to squeeze underneath to hide. Hitting the deck she scrambled her way in feet first and moved out of sight. Holding a hand over her mouth she forced herself to breathe through her nose, to not make a single sound as they approached and slowed their pace.

One black-clad figure turned and Icy shrunk back from the light, hoping they hadn't caught a glimpse of her. "Anything?"

"Nothing."

"Where is she?"

"She has to be here somewhere, look everywhere!"

_If you stop, you're dead._

She could hear their words echoing in her head, but knew for once she couldn't follow their advice. Staying perfectly still was her best chance, and though she knew her reserves of adrenaline were wearing thin and that she probably wouldn't be able to walk once she finally uncurled herself from this terrible position, she knew she didn't have any other choice. One false move or sound and she was dead, and her sister's sacrifices would have been in vain.

"This is ridiculous! Why do we even need her anyway? We have the others." Complained one of the officers when another stalked from the woods and held his hand forwards, making the man's throat constrict and his body hover in mid-air. He desperately clawed at the invisible hands, trying to relieve the pressure and grant access to life giving air once more. Face reddening and heart pumping faster and faster with each passing second.

"We don't have enough seals yet!" Snapped the younger man as he removed his hood, revealing his pale white face, short black and spiky hair, and eyes glowing green with envy. "We need her and unless you have a problem searching under every leaf in these woods then I suggest you tell me now."

His head shook and he instantly smashed into the ground, lungs coughing and wheezing. "Good, now keep searching!"

'I have to get out of here' Icy reasoned, feeling her legs slowly going numb from their compromising position. The crunching footsteps of her adversaries continued, their lights searching through every nook and cranny until a sudden beam of bright purple energy ripped through the sky and exploded like a firework above.

"What the hell was that!?" Demanded the leader. "Forget this one and go see what the hell that was!"

They ran off in search for answers, leaving the ice witch to herself again. She crawled from her position, now covered in mud, cuts, bruises and more than a little blood from her life saving scamper. "Darcy," she sighed, feeling the rest of her world shatter the same way that one signal beam did. A second beam struggled to reach the same height as the previous one and Icy blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as she conjured another shard from her trembling palm. "I'm sorry," she apologised before retracting her arm and throwing it into the sky, hearing her sister's screams amid the yells and taunts of their merciless hunters. Then it stopped, and a single tear rolled down her already sodden and tear streaked face.

She was the only one left.

No more midnight discussions on how to avoid The Shard, no more bickering between the three of them about where to go or where to hide, no distracting conversations to try and relieve the pressure that they felt squashing against their heart every waking moment that they breathed.

After years of conditioning, years of training and or preparation, Icy thought that it would have been easier, that it would have been simpler. That she wouldn't have felt the urge to retch the moment she needed to release that shard from her own hand and end her sisters lives, to save them from a fate that truly was worse than death.

But nothing in the world could have prepared her for what had just seen, heard or felt. And nothing could prepare her for what was coming next.

_Just keep running. Put one foot in-front of the other._

Darcy's distraction would only last so long, Icy needed to move. She found her rhythm again, found her arms pumping by her sides to push herself forwards at a reasonable pace toward her destination.

The sun's rays burned her skin from above and did little to help her hide amongst the shadows. The mattered clumps of brown mud that marred her beautiful white hair worked as a form of unsavoury camouflage against the trees and rocks as she forced herself forward and to just keep moving.

The cave was in sight, its sheltered den a welcome sign of relief for at least a moment. She allowed the smallest of smiles to pass her lips, if only filled with relief. When a suddenly larger black shadow spread over her body and before her on the grass, making her eyes widen as she dared to turn her head and look the beast in the eye.

A demon dog. Its body from head to tail black as night and eyes red as the fires of hell. It was blind, an overly sensitive nose its only form of detection and Icy used her opportunity well. She blasted the beast with her ice magic before forcing her aching and weak legs to charge forwards while it staggered backwards, wiping the icicles from its nose with its paw before leaping to follow. Its footprints were twenty times Icy's as she headed to the cave, hoping that the opening wasn't as large as it appeared before. She was proved right when it finally caught up to her and she desperately leaped through its entrance.

Landing with an unforgiving bang on the hard ground and odd stone that bruised her side, she coughed the dirt from her lungs before scrambling away. The demons paw clawing at the opening and making rocks fall around. Holding her bruised side with her right hand she searched the walls, the incessant banging and barking of the massive beast slowly becoming louder and more frequent.

There was no exit to the left, nothing to the right. Taking deep breaths and cursing under her breath she leant against the back wall and eyed the beast before her. Its persistence was something to be admired. It wouldn't be long before others made their way through or followed its tracking. She needed to make a decision.

_Just keep running._

But in what direction? She was cornered, like the murderous rat she had become.

_If you stop, you're dead._

Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe she should have just given up, forgotten about this entire affair and made her final escape from this hell. Raising a hand to her forehead she closed her eyes tightly and begged anything to tell her the answer…when she realised there truly was only one.

Lifting her left hand away she saw the tattoo, its six points edged in her skin. Her families curse, its blessing, and the entire reason that they wanted her for their aims. In order to create a real change in the course of history for years, centuries even, the six marks needed to be reunited together. The six points represented the six holders of the marks, though it was not directly connected to their existence. The Shard had her three ancestors, and now they had the bodies of her two sisters which meant they could obtain their seals.

They had five pieces to the puzzle.

She was the sixth.

The demonic wolf before her managed to get one paw through and started working with the second, pulling the entrance apart. It was now or never.

Turning to face the wall Ice held her left hand to her chest, her fist forward so the tattoo faced the wall. The entire tattoo glowed a brilliant blue that momentarily made Icy close her eyes before she shot her hand forwards, the blue morphing itself into a hexagon shaped portal.

_Never stop._

Icy ran through and was instantly spit out the other side and into a cool, dark night. She hit something on her way out but her mind was a complete whirling blur. She staggered on her feet toward the woods and felt her mark burning with a blinding intensity that made her eyes water and lungs struggle to even form the ear shattering scream that rocked her world.

She collapsed to her side, lungs heaving air as she stared at the mark, one of its points now red raw and burnt white before unconsciousness plunged her into a world of darkness.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will be from Helia's perspective on Flora's death. Thanks for reading and please review. **


	5. The Darkest Night

**A/N: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**

**This chapter is dedicated to Dragon At Play who was the only reviewer for the previous chapter.**

**I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not disappointed by the lack of response to the last chapter because I am. It's not the numbers of reviews that count but I do value the opinions of my readers and I like to hear what you think. I'm not sure if it's the same for others, but when I write it's because it is something that I love. I put my heart into everything that I write and spend hours at a time trying to work time into my schedule to update as soon as I can and to plan complex ideas and storylines. The reason I started uploading to Fan-Fiction was to get feedback on my work and to improve in my writing abilities, and reviews are the only way for you to tell me how I am doing and what I need to improve on. I'm not a perfect writer, I'm more than happy to admit it, but the only way for me to learn more about my writing is from you. So thank you for taking the time to read this authors note, enjoy the chapter and if you could give me some feedback I'd truly appreciate it.**

**Warning: This chapter contains blood and character death suitable to the T rating.**

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_**The Darkest Night**_

A yell, it was faint, strangled, choking - as if it had been building in her throat and had only, just now, been granted its desperate release. It was enough to make Helia's eyelids flutter open so he could look to the left, inspecting his partner in crime for signs of distress. He didn't know what she was dreaming about but knew better than to judge. He had woken up screaming more than a few times over the last few weeks and if his hand wasn't throbbing as much as it was to disturb his slumber, then he supposed he would be doing the same. Opening his eyes brought about the nightmarish reality that only his dreams could offer an escape from, and even they weren't cooperating.

Looking at the clouded sky, Helia released a breath, his mind slowly drifting back to the night that everything changed.

* * *

"The stars are so beautiful," Flora beamed, stepping outside the restaurant she and Helia had just spent a beautiful evening enjoying. The night air was warm and her eyes drifted to the sky where she inspected the constellations and suddenly took Helia's hand in hers and raced forwards. Pulled playfully along he didn't resist and after a while she stopped near a tree.

"Look," she pointed and Helia knelt to inspect the tiny cluster closer. They were small blue petals, curled around one another so tightly that they looked like they were spherical in shape. He smiled as they glowed a beautiful blue. "They are moonlight orbs." Flora explained, kneeling next to him. "They're only activated by the moonlight during the season of love, aren't they beautiful?"

"They are but I think I have something better," Helia teased, pulling Flora back to her feet. "Have I told you how much you mean to me?" She nodded as his hand cupped the side of her face and she leaned into his touch. The moonlight bathed the two in a mystical blue, making Helia's eyes sparkle and captivate Flora's heart.

"Tonight was magical," she gushed.

"Well we do live in the Magical Dimension," he joked, earning himself a comedic hit to the chest.

Flora balanced on her tiptoes while Helia supported her waist with her hands.

"I love you," she whispered softly, her arms linking behind his head. Helia closed his eyes and leaned in to steal a kiss when he felt a finger prevent his show of affection. Opening his eyes, slightly bewildered, Flora chuckled, turned on her heel and walked backwards, shaking her hand. "Not so fast, we're not home yet."

Helia laughed the smile on his face seemingly impossible to remove. He loved Flora more than anything; she was his heart, his life, his being. Everything that he hoped to achieve in his future involved her by his side, her hand in his own - his breath synchronised with hers.

And all it took was one moment – one second – for his world to shatter.

Flora was on her knees, eyes withdrawn and body barely staying still. She swayed to her side and Helia raced forwards as quickly as his body could carry him. He skidded to his knees by her side and held her against his body, feeling warm crimson blood seep through his fingertips and the wounds on her back and body that bled to the ground.

"Flora! Flora! No!" Helia cried, lifting his right, bloodied hand to her face. He found her gaze, his vision watery from the tears that were about to fall. "Flora-"

"I…I-I'm o-okay," she stuttered softly, her voice barely audible above the wind.

"Let me get help, I'll go and get some help." He went to leave but her hand stopped him. She placed it against his cheek and he leant into it. "S-stay…w-with me."

Her eyes drifted close. "Don't… you can't l-leave m-m-me."

"It's g-going to be ok."

"No…I can't live without you." His bottom lip quivered, the tears from his eyes streaming like rivers, their salt reflecting under the moonlight that made the blood pouring out of his fiancé's body a dark, almost purplish colour. She used the last of her energy to look her love in his eyes, and somehow the both of them knew the truth, that in that one final moment, she wasn't coming home.

"I love you," she sighed, eyes drifting down but not fully closing.

"I love you!" Helia yelled, cradling her body closer to his own, his teeth chattering against each other and eyes closing with grief. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he muttered over and over until his words would no longer come.

* * *

The hospital corridors were white, a complete contrast to the droplets of red that marred its perfect canvas down the hallway to the emergency room. Another sticky drop fell from Helia's hands to the floor, his suit was covered in it and though nurses had tried to offer him council he turned them away. The love of his life was gone, and talking about it wasn't going to bring her back.

Distant voices filled the corridor, the sounds of confusion filling his muddled mind. He managed to stand to his feet and turn to meet their gazes, instantly widening the moment they saw the blood on his clothes and the bloody handprint against his face, already crusted and dry. They stopped instantly, mouths slightly open, waiting for the answer that he knew he had to give. Forcing his eyes to look to theirs he shook his head.

Bloom was the first to fall, the weight on her shoulders pulling her to the floor where Sky quickly reacted to pull her into his arms. Stella buried her head into Brandon's chest while Layla did the same to Nabu. Tecna wiped the tears from her eyes and found herself holding Musa who was in a similar state, Timmy muttered something about it all being terribly illogical and Riven stepped forwards and placed a hand on Helia's shoulder. "Let me take you home," he whispered and Helia nodded softly, walking through the congregation that parted like the red sea. Normally he would have offered some words of wisdom, words of comfort, but nothing passed his lips.

He was numb from head to toe. And when he stood outside the door to his home with the keys in his hand he found it difficult to move. Musa stood in the background with her arms crossed, tear streaks against her face as Riven approached his side and pried the keys from his fingers. Carefully he unlocked the door and opened it for his friend. His own hardened heart softened and sunk to the bottom of the deepest ocean when he saw the rose petals on the floor guiding from the entrance to their bedroom, the candles that were lit for so long they had been melted down to nothing and a single rose on the table, sitting elegantly in a vase with a note that stated 'yours forever'.

"Are you going to be okay?" Riven asked nervously, knowing full well that it would take a while for anyone to be 'okay' with what happened. Though suicide wasn't something he thought Helia was capable of, during times of great distress anything was possible. Riven didn't know what he would have done if Musa's life had ended the same way.

"Yeah," Helia finally spoke, the first word he managed to utter.

"Are you sure you don't-"

"I need her back!" He snapped, turning on his heel, face full of fury and eyes burning with rage. Bloodied fingers curled into fists. "That's what I need and if you can't give it to me then you should just leave!"

"There was nothing else you could have done," Riven reasoned but Helia shook his head and looked away again.

"You weren't there," he sighed softly. "I just wish this was a dream, I wish that I would just open my eyes and everything would be back to how it was…but that's never going to happen." Musa stepped inside the door before she walked to Helia and placed a hand against his arm.

"If you need anything, and I mean anything, you let us know okay?" Helia didn't snap, he just nodded his head. "There is something you could do actually."

"Anything," Musa replied.

"I need help…picking what Flora should -" He couldn't finish the sentence without new tears forming in his already red and sore eyes but he didn't have to speak another word.

"We'll pick something nice for her, I promise," Musa smiled solemnly, knowing that it didn't meet her eyes no matter how much she wished it would to offer some sliver of comfort. "Do you need any help clearing this?" She looked to the petals and the candles though Helia shook his head.

"No…I'll do it." Musa nodded before Riven stood by her side and placed a comforting hand on the small of her back, with a final goodbye and offer of help, the two left and closed the door behind them, leaving Helia alone inside the house that had become his hell. He walked to the table and picked up the vase before throwing it to the floor where it smashed into pieces. He kicked the walls, broke glasses and finally ended up on the floor, surrounded by memories that whispered in his ears to torture him.

It had all seemed like a dream, until the day of Flora's funeral when he stood over her open casket. He lifted one of her cold, pale hands into his own and held it tight before leaning forward and planting a kiss against her forehead. "I will always love you," he whispered before tribute after moving tribute were given to the crowd who dabbed their tears away with tissues and clung to one another for support. But the pain he felt could not be dabbed away with anything, much less a tissue, and he had no hand to hold, no shoulder to cry on, nobody to truly share the burden with other than himself.

_I love you._

* * *

Blinking the remaining tears into submission, Helia wiped the tracks from his cheeks and turned to the left to see Icy looking at him, her piercing blue eyes staring right into his soul.

"You ok?" she asked and he nodded.

"You?" She nodded.

"We should keep moving…" She stood to her feet and he followed, carefully manoeuvring himself to stand. Once eye to eye neither said a word or made a move.

"I don't know what you might have heard," Icy sighed.

"Nothing," Helia interrupted, catching her a little off guard. "I didn't hear anything…and I don't think you heard anything either."

"Agreed," she nodded before walking ahead, making Helia release another sigh and look to the full moon one last time.

_I love you too._

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review.**


	6. No More Names

**A/N: I didn't expect to write this chapter as soon as I did but inspiration struck again :) thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter and for sharing your thoughts, please continue to let me know what you think (good or bad), I truly value your feedback.**

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_**No More Names**_

There was no time to dwell on the past, no time to plan for the future, all they could do was walk and keep walking, through the deepest dwellings of the forest, through the valleys and up the hillsides to get as much distance between them and their aggressors as possible before it was all too late.

Helia stumbled slightly and placed his hand on a nearby rock to steady himself. His eyes lifted to the witch before him, still walking without any sign of distress or weakness though they had been travelling for hours. "How much further?"

"Today?" She asked.

"No," his head shook, "total." Her throat hummed as she turned and walked a few steps toward him. Her eyes drifting upwards, as if she was trying to calculate something, before she looked back and sighed. "Not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I've never stopped to calculate it before," she admitted, finally taking a seat on another rock as Helia moved around and did the same, flexing his damaged hand which was now slowly healing back to its full strength. "All my life I was told to run and never stop, I guess they never specified the exact distance." Her arms crossed and Helia's head drooped slightly.

"Sorry…I guess you probably wouldn't be able to calculate it even if you did." A ghost of a smile pulled on Icy's lips as Helia's mouth opened and he shook his head. "I didn't mean…I'm sorry – that came out wrong."

"It's okay, I know what you meant-" Icy interrupted, watching his face become relieved. "And you'd be right. I don't think I could remember how long it's been. We've travelled between planets, across deserts, through forests and icy glades… I don't think anyone in the magical dimension has travelled as much as my family has."

"Don't you get tired of it?" Helia asked softly and she nodded with a soft smile.

"I do… because of this," she pointed to her tattoo, "I've been doomed to a life that I never wanted, one that will never be truly normal. I used to dream of a time when everything was simpler, when I had a place to call my home and people who loved me…but I guess fate has other plans because now all I dream about is tragedy." She paused and stood to her feet, her eyes drifting to the distant valley below the two of them, the sun in the distance bathing everything it could touch with its warm midday glow.

"I will never get to see the lives that others live, never have the luxury of staying in one place or living by routine, never have a place to call my home," she laughed slightly. "But the funniest thing of all is that others want this life…they call it freedom," again she met Helia's eyes and he knew what was coming next, "I call it hell."

Something glistened in the distance, making Helia's eyes widen before he rushed forwards and tackled Icy to the ground. The shot of magic chipped the rock he had been sitting on and instantly the two of them ran. Pulling Icy to her feet Helia made for the trees and once she found her stride she took a single moment to look down to her right.

Helia's hand held her tightly in his grasp, and yet she didn't follow her initial reaction to pull it away. She wasn't sure which one of them was leading the other through the undergrowth, away from the shouts that followed the two as they ran, but she did know that the last man who held her hand was her father. For the briefest moment she swore he was the one by her side, pulling her along and commanding her to run with her sisters and never turn back. His words were what pulled her through every moment inside this living nightmare, but, just as he had been her crutch during times of stress, and just as her sisters had been her support during times of crisis, he had also been ripped away from her life prematurely.

Anyone that she allowed herself to be near, family or not, were putting their lives in danger and she wasn't ready to let Helia be another casualty in her hazardous life. She might have only known him for a day or two, but it didn't matter. Too many people had lost their lives because of her misdeeds, either directly because of her own two hands, or indirectly because of the consequences of her actions. Her father, her mother, her sisters, her ancestors… there were already too many names on that list, the names of people that she and her sisters had hid with, of those who had offered them shelter for the night or given them food and warmth during the harshest winter storm.

Helia wasn't going to be another one, if there was going to be another name added to that list - it was going to be her own.

"This way," she commanded, pulling Helia toward a series of bushes protected by tall grass. The two hit the ground flat and remained still, breathing quietly and searching ahead for their followers. It didn't take long for a group of four or five of them to show up. They split up to search the area, a few heading to their right and others to their left. One of them started their way and Helia pulled on Icy's shoulder to try and get her to move but she refused. Instead she placed a hand over the one Helia had against her. 'Don't move,' she mouthed silently when one of the hooded men pulled back the branches and leaned forwards, looking straight into Helia's eyes.

His breathing stopped, his heart beats becoming erratically fast as adrenaline pulsed through his body, making his legs prepare themselves to start the arduous task of running once more. But, to his surprise, just as he was about to move and punch the man intruding on his personal space, he pushed the branches back angrily cursing under his breath before reporting back to their leader. "They're not here!"

"Where the hell did they go then!?"

"Maybe down the mountain?" Suggested another before their voices faded and Icy removed her hand from Helia's and rolled onto her back.

"Icy? What's wrong?"

She drew breath from her surroundings before her mark started to burn. Her eyes closed tight as she tried to breathe through the pain.

"Icy?"

"I'm…fine," she managed finally feeling the pain dull so she could focus again. Her eyes opened again slightly and she saw the confusion written in Helia's eyes. It was a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"How did you do that?" He asked, helping Icy sit up. He inspected the tattoo and was pleased to see that it hadn't changed though he couldn't help but notice the way that she removed her wrist from his fingers as if they were made of fire. "If you could do that all along then why didn't you?"

"Because it's a one-time thing," Icy explained, getting to her feet and walking away, making Helia quickly follow. "When we use the time travel, depending on length, we are also awarded a certain period of invisibility after we travel through the portal. It's so that we can slip away should the need arise once we enter the new time period… when I last used this I was too weak to use its full potential so it still carried a residual charge."

"And you just used all of it?"

Icy nodded. "We should keep moving."

"Why not stay here?" Helia asked. "If they've already looked over the area then what are the chances of them coming back again?" Icy didn't know, but she had never stayed in one place for too long, no matter how close the call had been. She didn't reply and instead started trekking further up the ridge, making Helia release a sigh and force himself to follow. He walked by her side, occasionally flickering toward her face to search for anything that told him how to react. Icy seemed to have the ability to be as open as a book one moment and as cold as the material she was named after the next. One moment she was sharing stories, telling him history, her regrets, and the next she was refusing his touch as if it was going to physically harm her.

The witch was a hard person to read, and maybe those little moments that they had shared through conversation were just a lapse of her mind telling her to relax her guard a little. And maybe the reason her wall had rebuilt seconds after it had occurred was because something had triggered it or her brain kicked back into gear and told her to be wary. But for whatever reason he knew that Icy had saved his life more than once over their last few days together and no matter what kind of person she was, she needed to have a heart under that tough exterior somewhere.

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Silence crept between the two, leaving the only sounds those of the grass crunching beneath their shoes and the birds whistling merrily in the trees above.

After they reached the final crescent in the hilltop Icy stopped walking, catching Helia's attention immediately. "Icy?" He asked from behind as she turned her head to the right and finally willed her body to turn.

"I think we should separate."

"What?"

"I said-"

"I heard what you said," Helia interrupted, stepping closer. "But I don't understand…Why don't you want me with you? Is it because I'm slowing you down because I can keep going or run when you want me to I'll do whatever you need-"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Everyone that has helped me, or hidden me in the past, has been mixed up in my world," she paused, swallowing the building saliva in her mouth. "I don't want that for you."

"You didn't bring me into this," Helia replied, watching the way she looked away. He reached and took a hold of her shoulders to make her look at him. "You didn't make me do anything. I was the one who brought you into my home, I was the one who treated your wounds and when you gave me the ultimatum I decided to follow you. You didn't make me choose any of it, you aren't responsible for this."

"I am," she replied, shaking her shoulders from his grasp. "I'm responsible for more death then you will ever see. I have been cursed my entire life…but that doesn't mean that I should drag anyone else down with me."

"I'm not being dragged anywhere," Helia replied honestly, though another part of his brain instantly replied 'yes you bloody hell are by the fact that she is probably your only chance for survival'. "I choose my own path, I don't have anything to return to back home, I didn't really have a life or a purpose after Flora died, so I have no reason to leave."

"If you stay with me, you will die… I told you that you wouldn't but I can't promise anything and I shouldn't have misled you."

"With you I die, without you I die," Helia chuckled, "think I'd rather die with someone, who might not even want me around, then do it alone."

Icy didn't look convinced.

"Look…" his voice softened. "As far as I can see it, we are all each other has. I know that without your abilities and your magic I would have died today. I would have been dragged to the wolves but I wasn't because you were there. So no matter what happens, I think we should still do this together, and it's not just because I'm worried that without you I'll die, although I am, it's because even though I don't know you and I don't know everything you've been through, I still would rather follow you on this wild adventure then go home and wallow in my self pity until The Shard are knocking on my door…but if you want to split up, then that's your choice, but you know what I think."

Icy inhaled a breath before she turned, contemplating her decision. She was sick of others putting themselves out to save her life, was sick of them being put into unnecessary danger by following her into the darkness. Though, another small part of her hoped that she wouldn't have to face it alone. She had always had her sisters by her side in the past, had their guidance, their friendship, to guide her through the loneliness of a life on the run. But they were gone now, now she had no one…except him.

Helia, a broken and downtrodden man overcoming the loss of one woman and now stuck in a wild goose chase with another. Relentlessly hunted for doing the only thing that anyone with a true heart would do, show an injured person refuge from the storm and care when they needed it most. Could she really leave him in the cold now? The logical side of her mind screamed to her to do what she needed to do, to keep moving, to keep going solo because fighting for two lives was always harder than fighting for one.

But another part of her could see Helia's need for something, for some kind of purpose. But could survival be that purpose?

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review.**


	7. Long Way To Go

**A\N: Hi everyone, I know it's been a while between updates and I thank you for your patience and understanding. I am hoping to have The Blood Wars and Winx Chronicles updated as well over the next month or so before I will be experiencing another lengthy delay of a few months. I apologise for the delays but thank those of you who are loyal enough to wait.**

**Thanks for the support of this fic so far, I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry that it is shorter than usual.**

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**Chapter 7**

**Long Way To Go**

"Fine," Icy sighed, turning on her heel and walking away, leaving Helia with a smile ten feet wide. His feet scampered and closed the distance between them as quickly as he could. "So, what's the plan?"

"We need to find shelter for the night," Icy replied, looking at the sky which had been gradually filling with dark grey clouds. "Judging by the look of it we are in for one hell of a storm."

"So a good place in the forest should do us, right?"

"No," Icy's head shook, "it's going to hail, and I don't mean marble sized stuff." A loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, earning their attention. Icy continued forwards, aiming for a nearby cliff face in search for a safe location while Helia followed loyally behind. He couldn't help but notice how beautifully white Icy's hair looked in contrast with the darkening world, it practically glowed. A thunderous roar of thunder, like a wooden barrel being rolled down a mountainside, passed overhead before the heavens opened and billions of heavy raindrops coated the world below.

Helia covered his eyes with his hands while Icy didn't seem worried about it at all. "I see a cave!" she announced over the spray before the two ran inside and got themselves comfortable. Icy stood at the cave entrance and smiled before conjuring her magic into creating two glasses. She held them under the running water and collected enough in each glass before returning to Helia who was ringing out his shirt.

"Thanks," Helia replied, taking the ice cold goblet into his hand and swallowing eagerly. With his thirst quenched he took a seat against the cave wall while Icy did the same opposite him. Silence again filled the distance between them and Helia was sick of the uncomfortable nature of it all. He had yet to entirely warm up to the ice cold queen but held a hope that maybe he would at least be able to make her smile. Standing to his feet he walked to the entrance again and breathed in the familiar scent of home, of beautiful trees and never-ending valleys full of freshly watered plants.

Then a single ice shard landed at his feet and Helia leant down to inspect it before the hail came. A particularly large piece bounced into the cave and landed near Icy. She took it between her fingers and threw it into the air a few times, judging its weight and stability. "I told you it would be big," she explained, chucking it in his direction. Helia reacted and caught it just in time before throwing it outside the cave entrance to join its brothers and sisters.

"How did you know it would hail?" He asked, returning to take his seat.

"My younger sister used to have a difficult temperament. I suppose hanging around her long enough got me used to identifying changes in the weather. My control over ice helps too, especially when clouds are really made up of ice crystals and most of the worlds weather patterns revolve around temperature change."

"You don't talk about them much."

"I've never had to," Icy replied rather coldly, eyes watching the water inside her cup swirl from side to side as Helia's began to melt on the caves dirt carpet.

"I know it can be difficult," Helia explained, earning her eye contact. "It's hard to talk about people who have left us behind. I found it hard to talk about Flora after what happened… my friends tried to help but I just couldn't face them."

"Some days I just feel like pulling my knees to my chest and lying in a corner to cry," Icy sighed, making Helia sympathise. "But they left us behind and now we need to move forwards for them… and you are lucky to have people who care about you so much. My sisters were all I had."

Helia's immediate response was 'but you have me now' though he was unsure of her reaction so instead he rephrased his question.

"Could you tell me more about them?"

Icy looked into his eyes though didn't show any signs of answering. She hadn't told anyone about her sisters or who they were as people; she always kept knowledge of her heritage and her family under the bandages that covered her broken heart. Anyone with too much knowledge ended up in danger because of the stories that she told and she wasn't sure whether Helia was in a position to be trusted. He hadn't left her side yet, how would a short story make him want to flee.

"My sisters are Darcy and Stormy, Stormy is the youngest and Darcy is the middle child. Ever since we were born we were all given this seal," her eyes flickered to the tattoo, "and stuck together through most of our childhood, attending school wearing long sleeves to stop people from seeing the marks. But one day The Shard attacked the school we attended and our father and mother managed to save us. When they both…passed away, I made the decision that I'd look after the two of them and that we would get through it together. Darcy had a control over darkness and dark mind control while Stormy had a control over the weather and-"

"Was the temperamental one," Helia noted and Ice nodded with a half hearted grin; the pain of losing someone that you loved hurt more than anything else in the world, it hurt more than a physical wound, more than a cut or break within the bodies mortal existence. The pain left behind when someone passed beyond this life and into the next, leaving others behind, was a wound that never truly healed. Was a memory that was always there and tainted the soul of whoever witnessed it. For those who had never lost someone the feeling was foreign, how one could go from being perfectly fine the one moment and withdrawn the next at the mere mention of a name or anything related the deceased.

But Helia had felt that pain. He wore that un-healing wound, he understood where she was coming from, he knew what it felt like to have someone important ripped from his life. He even understood what it felt like to feel responsible for another's death. But he didn't understand what it was like to be a murderer.

"You okay?" Helia asked, snapping Icy from her thoughts. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired I guess."

"It's been a long day," Helia agreed, "how about you get some rest, I'll take the first watch, not that I expect many of them to be following us in this weather."

"You'd be surprised," Icy commented before finding a semi comfortable position for her to lie in. "Helia." He turned. "Thank you for being patient, I know it takes a while for me to open up to people, especially about my past."

"It's okay, I understand. Try and get some sleep." Helia took a seat at the caves entrance, the roaring thunder slowly passing away while the rain poured, drenching everything below that it touched. Icy's eyelids began to close and soon she found herself back in the land of her dreams.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review.**


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